As of now, the fruits of that effort show up mostly in Photoshop, not in Lightroom. However, whatever one's preferences about this, there's no question but that Adobe is putting a lot of eggs into that basket. I find some of the AI-based algorithms useful but have no use for others. Re AI: I have a somewhat different view of this than you do, as I am trying to maximize control over my edits rather than turning them over to an algorithm based on someone else's machine-learning exercise. One can find a list of new features by version here. Development has most definitely not stopped.
I think it helps clarify things to note that the original freestanding Lightroom and the current current subscription-based Lightroom Classic CC are the same program, albeit with new features in the latter. While you may have binned them, not everyone reading the thread has. Just speaking for myself, I've been responding because threads like this can serve people other than the OP, so I think it's worth correcting misconceptions about Adobe products. Personally, I have no interest in persuading you or anyone else to use anything, and it's actually in my interest as an Adobe user to have more people looking at the competition. I think there is a bit of a Lightroom obsession in this place! I think it's open source and there are pros with that, but also a lot of cons. I abandoned it after a day or so as I felt it was clunky in use. I did try Gimp late last year, as I think I mentioned in my other thread. Whether that functionality is enough to tempt me back, I don't know. I originally bought a version of it years ago when we were doing a lot of travelling to different cities around the world, at the lens corrections and distortion fixes were really brilliant. Like Lightroom, Affinity feels rather old tech as software, as there is a lot of clicking around between different menu areas if doing a complex edit.
I will only use it on my twin 27" retina screen desktop set up (I use the second screen in this context to keep my library handy along with a reference image so that I don't have to keep switching between layers and edits). It is in my opinion unusable on a laptop though unless you have the pin sharp vision of a sixteen year old. And at half price currently (around £25) it is so cheap that I may as well buy it as a back up for tricky edits.
I have not tried Capture One yet as I am a bit sick of the whole process now.Īffinity is much better than photoshop for some things, such as creating detail and colour layers for removing skin blemishes in portraits. I think this product is really aimed at Instagram users and social influencers as it is a very fast route to generic "photoshopping". But there is a tendency for the AI engine to produce images that look a bit fake. Luminar is exceedingly fast to use, and the sky replacements and portrait tools are very clever with enough adjustability. Then finally Luminar AI which was clear leader for some things, but mostly worst. Then I preferred OSX Photos which is very quick and easy but of course limited in scope. Then Lightroom (but the processing was done last June and I can't tweak now) But it took a lot longer.ĭXO was next best and would probably have matched it if I had time to watch some tutorials. I actually got the best results out of Affinity. I chose RAW images that I had previously personally processed in Lightroom CC (but working from my unprocessed file obviously) so that I could compare against Adobe. I have processed a couple of raw images today using each of DXO Photolab 4, Affinity, OSX Photos and Luminar AI all on the desktop. This is why I prefer to consult real photographers in the forum, rather than rely in internet reviews alone, as they can be misleading. If I had to change to a non-Adobe product, this is probably where I would end up going.
The raw convertor, Aftershot Pro 3, is sold separately and is definitely not in the same class as PhotoLab or Capture One. That is the same issue I have with GIMP only I find it far worse than Affinity Photo.Ĭorel Paint Shop Pro Ultimate was another possibility, but I did not love the user interface either, but better than Affinity Photo. I purchased it with an eye to getting away from Photoshop and the user interface is not something that is particularly well thought out or intuitive. Will have another look on a desktop.I totally agree with your assessment of Affinity Photo. Very badly designed from that perspective.
They also spray menu options pretty much all around the screen edges. Unfortunately I tried it on a 13" Apple pro laptop and Affinity uses such a lot of screen real estate it is not viable except on a desktop. It has a huge number of options but boy is it slow. I spent a few hours early this morning using Affinity.